Come What May
by ScarlettAvery
Summary: The room began spinning and shaking. Scenes flashed before him. The final battle. Nagini attacking him in the Shrieking Shack. Seeing Lily again and watching her fade into a dark haired girl bent over him, crying and trying to save him. Severus felt nauseous. The spinning stopped and he landed in a dark kitchen, looking out into the night. "Severus, honey, are you alright?"


Disclaimer : All recognized characters and situations belong to J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros, etc.

They're just being borrowed for the moment for our entertainment.

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Prologue

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Severus Snape bit back a groan of irritation as his fireplace flashed green, undoubtedly announcing the coming arrival of Albus Dumbledore. Why must he always interrupt good work? It seemed that every time Severus started a new potion or one that required strict attention, Albus would pop in. The man had the worst timing.

"What do you want, Albus?" Severus spat. He really needed to get back to his potion.

"You didn't come to my office after tonight's meeting," Albus replied.

Severus sighed. "And you want to know what happened. Nothing, Albus. He demands a potion. Before you ask, he wants to see the future."

"Are you brewing it now?" Albus asked, stunned.

"Of course! It would be complete by now if it weren't for your interruption. I must have enough time to make sure it works. Then I need the time to dilute it so that whatever he sees is too vague to use."

Albus nodded. "I see," he said. "I will leave you to your work. Let me know when you are done with it all."

"Finally," Severus muttered when Albus disappeared. He turned back to the ingredients and cauldron on his work table, trying to remember what the last thing he added was. With a spark of brilliance, he remembered that he was on the last ingredient. He picked up a vial of morning dew and tilted it over the cauldron so that only one drop was poured into the potion.

As Severus turned to pick up the stopper, he moved the vial to an upright position, one more drop spilled out, and the potion began to sizzle. Confused, he turned back to the potion. It was a bright gold color. The polar opposite of what it should have been.

Before he had a chance to move, the potion exploded and covered the whole room, including himself, top to bottom.

He had opened his mouth in surprise when it blew up and he ended up with a glob of the vile stuff in his mouth. Of course he spit it out, but just a taste was enough.

The room began spinning and shaking. Scenes flashed before him. The final battle. Being bit by Nagini in the Shrieking Shack. Seeing Lily again and watching her slowly fade into a girl with dark hair bent over him, crying and trying to save him. A memorial service for all who were lost. Severus felt nauseas.

Finally, all the spinning stopped and he landed in a dark kitchen, looking out a window into the night.

The lights flipped on, momentarily blinding him.

"Severus, honey, are you alright?" A woman asked.

Severus turned, a smart remark on his tongue, only to be stopped by what he saw in front of him.

A young woman, almost as beautiful as his Lily, stood looking at him curiously while resting her left hand on her very pregnant belly. After a moment, he realized that she was wearing a wedding ring and that she was waiting for him to answer her.

He chose what he thought would be a safe answer. "I need a drink."

The woman nodded before moving to a cupboard and pulling out a bottle of his favorite Firewhiskey and handing it to him with a small smile.

"Well, this tot is screaming for sleep. You better hope he's ready to enter the world soon or his mommy might never let you touch her again," she said jokingly. "I'm going back to bed. Come back when you're ready. Goodnight, Severus," she said before stretching up on her tiptoes and giving him a soft, quick kiss.

Severus was stunned. She had just confirmed his worst fears. He was married. He had a wife. Oh Merlin, he was having a baby!

Well, at least he knew the potion didn't work. It sent one to their nightmares, not the future.

Severus walked into the next room, a sitting room, and sat in the chair by the fire. He opened the bottle of Firewhiskey and took a nice long drink. That's where the woman found him in the morning, passed out in the chair with an empty bottle hanging from one hand and another on the ground.


End file.
